Safety attachment for elevators.



H. J. PIEPGRAS. SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATORS. APPLICATION FILED JULY24, 1912.

1,081,771 Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

2 BHEIITBSHEET.1.

WITNESSES lNl/E/VTQH Herman I Pie aras ATTUR/VEVS coumnm PLANOGRAPH cu..WASHINGTON. [h C.

H. J. PIEPGRAS. SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATORS. APPLICATION FILED JULY24, 1912.

2 QHEETB-BHEET 2.

WITH/E8858 [AWE/[170R Hermah J. Piepg was ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFII(0.,WASIHNGTON. u. c.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

FFTGE.

HERMAN JOHN PIEPGRAS, OF CALDWELL, IDAHO.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATORS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Henna}: J. Pn-zrenns, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Caldwell, in the countyof Canyon and State of Idaho, have invented a new and Improved SafetyAttachment for Elevators, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

My invention relates to elevators, and it comprises a safety attachmentfor automati cally stopping the elevator in case the load is not removedtherefrom before the elevator platform reaches the highest point of itstravel, and thus avoiding injury to the persons or tl'iings on theplatform and damage to the parts of the elevator itself.

My invention is especially designed to be used in connection withelevators of the endless belt or conveyor type, and it is so constructedthat the parts which actuate the safety attachment to stop the elevatorare forced into operative position by the weight of the person or otherthing which the elevator carries, so that in case the load is notremoved before the platform on which the same is carried reaches theturning point at the top, the elevator is stopped by the engagement ofcertain parts which serve to disconnect the elevator from the source ofthe driving power.

Reference is to be had to the aocompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which the same characters of reference indicatethe same parts in both the views.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my safety attachment in position uponan elevator of the kind mentioned; and Fig. 2 is a front view of thesame.

The numeral 1 indicates a pair of standards or upright bearings in whichis carried a shaft 2, over which passes an elevator belt or conveyor 3.This belt is of a type commonly used in buildings having several floors,and in practice it will run from the basement to the top floor and maybe used for liftin either persons or freight to the required eight. Onthe top floor are arranged standards for upright bearings L carrying adriving shaft 5, whereon is mounted a pulley serving as an operatingpulley and driven by any suitable source of power. The numerals 6represent guards on either side of the belt or conveyer 3, which areperforated to allow of the passage of the Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed July 24, 1912.

.atcnted1)ec. 16,1913.

Serial No. 711,247.

shafts 2 and 5, and which extend from the bottom of the elevator to thetop, as shown. One of'the standards 4; at the top of the elevator,preferably the one shown at the right in l ig. 2, is hollow and containsactuating geiring for turning the shaft 5. This gearing is not shown,but it may be of any suitable type and be driven from a shaft 7 whichenters the bearing and is supported at its outer end by any suitablestandard. This shaft has mounted on its projecting portion a loosepulley 8 and a fixed pulley 9, and over the fixed pulley is passed anoperating belt 10, by means of which driving power is supplied.

The belt 3 is provided with a number of steps or platforms, each ofwhich comprises a board or plate 1.1 fixed to triangular frames 12 ateach end. These triangular frames 12 have shanks 13 extending therefrom,these shanks being pivotally secured to the belt so as to permit theplate or plat form 11 to be rotated through substantially 90. The plate11 is rigid with the frames 12, and these frames also have rigidlysecured thereto a plate 1 L which extends substantially at right-anglesto the plate 11;

and has projections 15 at its ends which engage the guards (l to holdthe plate 11 in horizontal position while the platform is moving in anupward direction. .At this time the projections 15 will simply slideupon the edges of the guards in a manner that will be readilyunderstood.

The plate 11 has four apertures passing thorethrough near the corners,and these apertures receive headed bolts 16 which are rigidly secured tothe top of the platform shown at 17. This top 17 is held spaced from theplate 11 by means of spiral springs, and it has rigidly secured centally thereto and projecting downward a rack 18, a central aperture beingprovided in the board 11 to give passage to this rack. So long as thetop 17 is not weighted the springs associated with the bolts 16 willforce the top upward as fa r as the bolts permit, but when the top isweighted the springs will yield so as to move the rack bar 18 downward.A fifth spring may be used surrounding the 'ac bar between the board lland the top 17, as shown.

The lower end of the rack bar 18 projects through a bearing 19 carriedby the plate 14, and this rack bar is provided with rack teeth along asection of its length to engage with a pinion 20 mounted upon a shaft 21carried by bearings 22 rigidly supported upon the lower face of theplate 11. This shaft 21. has a second gear 23 which meshes with ahorizontally movable rack bar .2 1 which slides in bearings also carriedupon the lower face of the board 11. The rack bar 24 is movabletransversely with respect to the direction of travel of the belt for apurpose which will appear later.

26 is an endless cord which passes over pulleys 27 mounted upon one ofthe guards 6 near the lower end thereof, and pulleys 28 carried by thestandards 29 adjacent the hollow top bearing at. Other guide pulleys 30are employed, and below these last-named pulleys is a triangular frame31, this frame being shaped approximately like the figure four andhaving eyelets to which the ends of the cords 26 are secured. The apexof this frame points upward, and the base of the triangle forms ashoulder adapted to be engaged by the 'rack 24. when the latter projectsfar enough.

The belt 10 is engaged by a belt shifter which comprises a shank 82 anda yoke 33, this yoke having eyelets carried by either arm thereof, towhich the cord 26 is secured. Any movement of the cord will move thebelt off of the pulley 9, and the parts are arranged so that the belt 10when moved off the operating pulley will be moved upon the loose pulley8.

The manner of operation of my invention is as follows: When eitherplatform is on the side of the belt which is traveling upward it willautomatically turn about the pivoted ends of the parts 13 until it comesinto the lowest possible position, with the projections 15 resting uponthe lateral edges of the guard 6, and the top 17, as well as the board11, in horizontal position. So long as this platform is not weighted thetop 17 will be held up by the springs, and the rack 21 will occupy theposition shown in F ig. 2, but should a weight be placed upon the top17, this top will sink, moving the rack 18 down and turning the shaft 21so as to cause the rack 2 1 to be moved outward. lVith the parts in thisposition the weighted platform will be carried upward, and the person orother object on the platform can be lifted as high as necessary; and ifthe platform is cleared before the top floor is reached the top 17 willbe again forced up to withdraw the bar 2 1 and allow the elevator tocontinue in motion. If, however, through oversight or for some otherreason the platform remains weighted before the top floor is reached,the bar 24- will remain in project ing position and engage the shoulderof the frame 31 as soon as it reaches it. This will cause the cord 26 toshift, and through the belt shifter the operating belt will be movedover on the loose pulley 8 and thus stop the elevator. In this wayaccidents can be avoided, as otherwise the load upon the platform wouldbe carried over the operating pulley carried by the shaft 5 at the top,and as soon as this happens the platform will automatically move,because of its own weight, from the position shown near the middle ofFig. 1 at the left to the positi6n shown near the top of Fig. 1 at theright, and anything on the platform when it moves in this way will bethrown off. The result might be serious injury and damage, but thedanger of such injury and dam age is entirely obviated by the rack 24.engaging the frame 31 to shift the operating belt over upon the loosepulley and thus stop the elevator and give notice that the load on theuppermost platform must be removed before the elevator can again besafely set into motion.

From the above description it will be seen that T have provided a veryetficient attachment for the purpose in view, and that by its use anelevator of the kind described can be automatically stopped under theconditions described and accidents entirely avoided.

I wish to have it understood that the above description is illustrativeonly, and that I do not care to be limited to the exact details hereinset forth, but reserve to myself the right to make such changes in theshape, size and arrangement of the parts as fairly fall within the scopeand spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. The combination in an elevator, of belt gearing for driving the same,a belt shifter, an endless cord connected to the belt shifter andextending parallel with the direction of travel of the elevatorplatform, a frame having a shoulder carried by said cord, and a movablemember carried by the elevator platform and adapted to be moved intoposition to engage the shoulder to operate the cord and move the beltout of operative position in case the elevator platform remains loadedwhen it nears the upper end of its travel.

2. The combination in an elevator, of a platform having a movable topcarried by said elevator, a transversely-movable member carried by theplatform, means engaging said member and movable by the platform topwhen the same is depressed to project said member beyond said platform,and means for disconnecting the elevator from the driving power actuatedby said member in case the platform remains loaded when the same reachesthe upper end of its travel.

3. The combination in an elevator, of a platform having a depressibletop, a rack bar movable to project beyond the side of the platform, arack bar secured to the top, gearing engaging said rack bars to move thefirst-named rack bar into projecting position When the platform top isdepressed, and a belt shifter operated by the projecting rack bar tostop the elevator in case the platform remains loaded when the sameapproaches the upper end of its travel.

, l. The combination of an elevator platform, resilient means forsupporting said platform, a projection movably mounted on said platform,means operable by the load on said platform for moving said projectioninto projecting position, a belt shifter, and means for operating thesame, said means being actuated by said projection.

5. The combination of an elevator platform comprising a movable top, amovable member mounted upon said platform, a connection between saidmovable top and said member to cause said member to project when the topis depressed, a belt shifting device, and means for operating the same,said means being engageable by the said member to be actuated.

The combination of an elevator platform having a depressible top,resilient means for supporting said top, a rack bar slidably carried bysaid platform, a gear wheel engaging said rack bar, a spindle on whichsaid gear wheel is mounted, a second gear wheel on said spindle, a rackbar carried by the top and engaging the second gear wheel to project thefirst rack bar when the top is depressed, a belt shifter, and means foroperating the same to be engaged by the first rack bar when the same hasbeen moved to projecting position.

7. The combination of a flexible member, a triangular frame interposedin said flexible member, and having one side in line therewith and itsother two sides extending therefrom, guide pulleys for the said flexiblemember, a belt shifting device to the opposite sides of which the endsof the said flexible member are connected, and an elevator platformhaving means for engaging said triangular frame to move the flexiblemernber to actuate the said belt shifting device to stop the elevator.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN JOHN PIEPGRAS.

\Vitnesses 1. V. KELLY, L. T. JOURNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington. I). C.

